Tubular braided article



Dec. 30, 1969 'r. w. POWELL 3,486,409

TUBULAR BRAIDED ARTICLE Filed March 26, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORTRUMAN w. POWELL BY Jamie 1 ATTORNEYS Dec. 30, 1969 T. w. POWELL3.486.409

TUBULAR BRAIDED ARTICLE Filed March 26, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IEXIZINVENTOR TRUMAN w. POWELL BY 1M gm? ATTORNEYS United States Patent3,486,409 TUBULAR BRAIDED ARTICLE Truman W. Powell, RED. 1, Box 25,Zephyrhills, Fla. 33599 Filed Mar. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 716,039 Int. Cl.D04c 1/12 US. Cl. 87---6 4 Claims BRIEF SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to braided articles of the round or tubular type andis concerned in particular with such articles provided with insertsdisposed within the hollow interior of the braid for the purposes ofproviding a locally enlarged portion in the article. The enlargedportion of the article may serve various purposes for example, a roundbraided shoelace having an insert provided immediate its ends allowingfor easy centering of the shoelace in the associated shoe structure andalso lending a pleasing aesthetic appearance. As another example, around braided rope provided with inserts at longitudinally spaced pointsalong the length of the rope conveniently provide hand grip portionswhereby the rope is made more efiicient climbing purposes.

Another aspect of the present invention relates 'to an attachment forround braiding machines whereby inserts of the type describedhereinabove are presented to the machine automatically to beincorporated in the round braided article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES .OF

THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a portion of a shoe having ashoelace constructed in accord with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view on enlarged scale showing the central portion ofthe shoelace shown in FIG. 1;

" FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the central portion ofthe braided article in section to illustrate the disposition of'theinsert 'therewithin;

' FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse section taken substantially alongline 44 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is transverse section similar to that of FIG. '4 but illustratinga modification of the braided article in the form of a rope according tothe invention;

FIG. 6 is an elevational View illustrating use of the rope shown in FIG.5;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view partly in section illustrating theattachment for braiding machine to apply the insert of this invention tobraided articles;

FIG. 8 is a further elevational view of the assembly shown in FIG. 7;and,

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the insert strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring first to FIGS. 7 and 8of the drawings, an attachment assembly 10 is associated with anoverhead arrangement 12, the latter being conventional in tubularbraiding machines. As is wellknown in the braiding art, the individualyarns 14, which are braided together to form a tubular braided article16, are carried by bobbin assemblies 18, which, in turn, are carried byflanges or horns of a train of gears disposed between the top and3,486,409 Patented Dec. 30, 1969 "ice bottom plates of the braidingmachine. The top plate is formed with a serpentine path which guides thebobbin carriers, all as is conventional and Well known in the art.

The overhead arrangement 12 may take any suitable conventional form andany conventional form of take-up arrangement for the finished braid 16may also be provided.

The attachment assembly 10 comprises a main body portion 20 havingmounting flange portions 22 whereby the attachment may be secured infixed position immediately below the overhead 12. The main body portionis provided with a vertical channel 24 receiving a tape 26 which issuesfrom the upper end thereof to pass over a pair of idler rollers 28 and30, whereupon the tape then issues downwardly to pass between drivenpinch rolls 34, 36 to waste. Tape 26 issues from a suitable supply roll,not shown, and in the course of progressing through the vertical channel24 in the main body portion 20 is subjected to a die punching operationto provide the individual insert portions thereof which are incorporatedinto the hollow interior of the braided article 16.

For this purpose, as can be seen in FIG. 7, the main body portion 20 isprovided with a guide recess 38 which receives a shoe 40 normally urgedby springs 42 so that its outer face 46 is flush with the surfacedefining the vertical channel 24 containing the tape 26. A cutting die48 is guided in the main body portion and is provided with an actuatingarm or lever 50 suitably attached thereto by a pivot 52 and also mountedby a pivot 54 on ears 56 of the main body portion 20 for intermittentoperation of the die to stamp or press insert elements 60 from the tape26. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 9, the insert elements 60 areprincipally shaped to define a transversely large main body portion 62having taperered opposite end portions 64 and 66 terminating inlongitudinally extending tongue 68 and 70.

The drive rollers 34 and 36 are driven in synchronization with thebraiding machine, the drive to the rollers 34 and 36, and to theactuating arm 50 of the die 48 being intermittent. The sequence ofoperation is such that while the tape 26 is stopped, a die punchingoperation is efiected which stamps an insert 60 from the tape 26 whichis then returned to the opening 72 in the body of the tape (FIG. 9) bythe shoe 40 whereafter the tape is advanced so that in passing over theidler roller 28, the insert 60 is stripped therefrom and is directed tothe area of convergence of the yarns 14 so that its longitudinallyextending tongue portion 68, as shown in FIG. 8, is gripped by theaccumulating yarns and is thereafter automatically pulled into thecenter of the tubular braid 16 and the braiding continues around theinsert 60.

As a result of the embedding of the insert,- the braided article 16 isprovided with a localized enlarged portion 80, FIG. 2, caused by thepresence of the insert disposed within the tubular or round braid. Suchan article may be cut to convenient lengths with the locally enlargedportion centrally disposed therealong and provided at its opposite endswith suitable tips 82, as shown in FIG. 1, to provide a shoe lace which,by virtue of the centrally located enlarged portion 80, is automaticallycentered as is shown in FIG. 1. Since the insert 60 is of a strip orflat shape, it lends a pleasing appearance to the shoe lace and also maybe of such width as will not pass through the adjacent eyelets 86whereby the shoe lace must always remain in properly centric relation tothe shoe. The enlarged portion 80 may be decorated or have a given nameinscribed thereon.

A modified form of the article is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in whichinstance, the article 90 is a rope provided at gions 92, which provideconvenient handgrips to aid in climbing as is illustrated in FIG. 6. Inthis case, the inserts 96, as shown in FIG. 5, may be of cylindricalconfiguration, having tapered opposite end portions and longitudinallyextending tongues in a fashion generally similar to the insert 60described hereinabove.

It will be appreciated that the insert will ordinarily be relativelyflexible and may be made of suitable synthetic resinous material or thelike whereas it will also be appreciated that the braided article beingmade of yarns being selected as desired giving the requisite strength,stiffness and the like as may be necessary or desirable for theparticular article being made.

What is claimed is:

1. A limp and flexible tension member comprising a length of tubularbraid having a hollow interior, an insert disposed within said hollowinterior, between the ends of said tension member, said insert having amain body portion dimensioned to present a local enlargement of thebraid and having tapered opposite end portions terminating adjacent saidmain body portion to leave major portions of said tension member oneither side of said insert which are free and unencumbered by thepresence of said insert therewithin.

2. The tension member according to claim 1 wherein the insert is alsoprovided with longitudinally projecting UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1926Badger et al 876 5/1937 Bradley 876 XR JOHN PETRAKES, Primary ExaminerUS. Cl X.R. 8711

